SBIR Phase II: A MHz High Energy Femtosecond Fiber Laser System for High Throughput Photonic Device Fabrication

这个小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目将开发一个集成的飞秒高能光纤源，用于高通量光子器件制造。 该项目的最终目标将是一个激光振荡器/放大器，在整个产生和放大过程中将脉冲限制在光纤中。 这将带来高稳定性、鲁棒性并易于集成到其他系统中。这些特性将使光纤激光器系统在生产吞吐量、尺寸和成本方面具有上级优势。第二阶段将开发光纤激光器的功能原型。为了证明激光器制造真实世界设备的能力，将进行涉及玻璃和波导通道微加工的实验。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是对高能飞秒光纤激光器的理解的突破，以及对广泛应用的激光产品的前所未有的新设计。 新的激光产品将提供高功率，高重复率和低成本的组合，超过当今市场上任何现有的激光器。 潜在的市场包括光子器件制造（例如波导，耦合器，调制器和开关），金属加工（焊接，切割，退火和钻孔），半导体和微电子制造，通用材料加工（例如快速原型，桌面制造，微加工和照相精整），医疗设备和生物医学仪器。 在医学领域，潜在的应用包括眼科、屈光和普通外科、光凝、治疗、成像和美容应用。 可能受影响的生物医学测量包括细胞计数、DNA测序、激光拉曼光谱、荧光光谱、消融和基于激光的显微镜。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop an integrated femtosecond high-energy fiber source for high-throughput photonics device fabrication. The final goal of the project will be a laser oscillator/amplifier that confines the pulse to the fiber throughout the generation and amplification process. This will lead to high stability, robustness, and easy integration into other systems. These characteristics will make the fiber laser system superior in terms of production throughput, size, and cost. Phase II will develop a functional prototype of the fiber laser. To demonstrate the ability of the laser to fabricate real-world devices, experiments will be carried out involving the microfabrication of glass and waveguide channels. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be a breakthrough in understanding of high-energy femtosecond fiber lasers and an unprecedented new design for laser products across a wide range of applications. The new laser product will offer a combination of high power, high repetition rate, and low cost which surpasses any existing laser on the market today. Potential markets include photonic device fabrication (e.g. for waveguides, couplers, modulators, and switches), metal processing (welding, cutting, annealing, and drilling), semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturing, general materials processing (e.g. rapid prototyping, desktop manufacturing, micromachining, and photofinishing), medical equipment, and biomedical instrumentation. In the medical area, potential applications include ophthalmology, refractive and general surgery, photocoagulation, therapeutics, imaging, and cosmetic applications. Biomedical measurements which might be affected include cytometry, DNA sequencing, laser Raman spectroscopy, spectrofluorimetry, ablation, and laser based microscopes.